Kent seals the deal after paper ballot count at board of elections

After absentee and affidavit ballots were counted today at the Suffolk County Board of Elections in Yaphank, Kent’s lead over Republican Frank Beyrodt widened to 123 votes.

The results are not yet certified — and therefore still unofficial — but even if all the ballots challenged by the Republicans are thrown out, Kent is still the winner.

Kent could not immediately be reached for comment.

Riverhead Democratic chairwoman Marge Acevedo said she was relieved and pleased with the outcome of today’s count. Results likely won’t be certified for another week or two, she said. The board of elections still has to count paper ballots for Southold and Huntington towns and for the eighth legislative district, Acevedo said.

Beyrodt said he wishes Kent the best of luck in the job.

Southold’s paper ballots will be counted tomorrow. In the council race there, Democrat Mary Eisenstein trails incumbent Republican by 123 votes. There are 614 paper ballots from Southold voters waiting to be counted at the board of elections’ headquarters. The paper ballots consist of 572 absentee ballots and 42 affidavit ballots, which were cast at the polls but not scanned by voting machines. Eisenstein would need to win 369 votes to claim victory in the four-way race, according to calculations provided by Suffolk Commissioner of Elections Nick LaLota.

Denise is a veteran local reporter and editor, an attorney and former Riverhead Town councilwoman. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a “writer of the year” award from the N.Y. Press Association in 2015. She is a founder, owner and co-publisher of this website. Email Denise.